Category Archives: Estate Planning
Florida Probate & Prenuptial Agreements
For a variety of reasons, more and more couples in Florida are executing prenuptial agreements before they marry. Prenuptial agreements, often called ‘prenups,’ can serve as contracts between the spouses, disposing of potential future issues like asset disposition and alimony in the event of a divorce. However, they may also deal with probate-related issues… Read More »
The Role of a Personal Representative in Probate
When a loved one passes away, a personal representative (PR, also called an executor) is needed to oversee the disbursement of their assets and debts to their heirs, and carry out numerous other duties relating to probate. If you have been named PR of an estate, you are now duty-bound to carry out the… Read More »
The Florida Elective Share Statute
In order to protect the surviving spouse of a person who passes away in Florida, the state has what is called an elective share statute, granting the surviving spouse a share of their deceased spouse’s estate so the surviving spouse is not disinherited. Florida law states that the surviving spouse is entitled to an… Read More »
Medicaid Eligibility and Estate Planning in Florida
According to the Florida Health Care Association, the average cost of care in a Florida assisted living facility is around $48,000 per year, with a private room in a nursing home costing even more – around $100,000 per year. These types of costs are simply untenable for the majority of Floridians, and because of… Read More »
Florida Charitable Trusts Decoded
It is very common for those planning their estates to want to give some of their assets to a charity or charities that they support. However, simply establishing an amount in your will is not necessarily the best way to give; too much can change in Florida probate and too many other people can… Read More »
Estate Planning & Providing For Stepchildren
Florida’s families are more blended now than they perhaps ever have been, with divorce rates high and it no longer being as stigmatized to have a child out of wedlock. Very often stepchildren will become just as dear to their stepparents as any blood relation – only to be thunderstruck when they are left… Read More »
Will My Florida Estate Be Taxed?
For many, one of the many attractive perks of living in Florida is the absence of many state taxes – there is no state income tax, and for many years running the state has had one of the lowest tax burdens in the country. However, when dealing with your estate planning, you may still… Read More »
What is an Advance Directive?
An estate plan is typically seen as a way to prepare for what happens to your assets and your property after you pass away. As important as this is, there is more to estate planning than simply deciding who gets what. Other estate planning instruments are designed to come into effect while you are… Read More »
Is A Holographic Will Valid In Florida?
When most people make a will, they do it with the help of an attorney, or at least with the assistance of friends to act as witnesses. However, in rare situations, a person might execute what is called a holographic will, which is a will made out entirely in the testator’s own handwriting (an… Read More »
Formal and Summary Probate In Florida
When a person passes on, their estate is subject to probate if they have any assets in their name that do not automatically pass to someone else. There are two different ways that an estate can go through probate in Florida – summary administration and formal probate. The estate of your deceased loved one… Read More »